Share this:

Like this:

Happy Holidays!

I wish for you to Be Happy, Content and Prosperous!I wish you Good Health, a Warm Home, plenty of Joy, Laughter and Happiness; and close Friends and Loved ones, with whom you can share your many Blessings!And above all, I wish you Peace in your Heart and in your World.

* * * * * * * * *

I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,
and a Wonderful Peaceful New Year 2019,
filled with Love, Joy, and inner Peace!

If you love reading educational books and would like to study The Science of Happiness, join the Happiness Book Club — please note that all books and books summaries are in English.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you love watching good movies and discussing them with a small group of like-minded people, join the Feel-Good Movie Club. The films are Beautiful, Uplifting and Educational — please note that all films are in English or with English subtitles.

“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

The other is Good: It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Serenity, Humility, Kindness, Benevolence, Empathy, Generosity, Truth, Compassion and Faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.””

This story illustrates very beautifully the two parts within all of us:The first one is Your True Self, Your Higher Self, Your Soul. It is All-Knowing, Loving and Wise. It Knows what is best for you; and if you listen to It and follow Its guidance, It will always lead you to the Truth, the Good, and the Beautiful. It is the path of Love, Joy, and Inner Peace. It speaks to you in a gentle, soft, kind, and loving way. It speaks to you through your Intuition, your Gut-feelings, your Inner-Knowing. It is what is often referred to in the Scriptures as the Small Still Voice for God.

The second part is your ego, your small self. It speaks out of fear, greed, guilt and lack. It keeps you busy thinking about the past — what you did and didn’t do — and it keeps you worrying about the future. If you follow it, it tells you to do the wrong things, and then punishes you for doing them; it sabotages your happiness and success, and blames you for your failures. It is the voice that tells you that “you are not good enough and / or unworthy“. It is the self-pity voice that says “poor little me.” It is the self-centered, egoistic and materialistic mind-set that controls and dominates the thinking of most people, which led to all the crises we face today.

How to tell which part is speaking to you at any moment?
If it comes from Love, it is the Voice of Your Higher Self: Its Nature is Unconditional Love; and It feeds only on Love: It thinks, speaks and acts out of Love only.

If the voice comes from fear; it is the voice of your ego; it feeds and thrives on your fears. It speaks first and speaks the loudest.

How to stop feeding the ego?
Stop engaging in its drama. Stop all blame, shame, guilt or hate thoughts. Stop judging others; stop engaging in gossip, or meaningless activities; never use harsh words, or do harm. You also need to take good care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually; otherwise, your ego will use your weakness against you.

To hear the Voice of Your True Self, you need to be able to quiet your mind. Meditation, Mindfulness and Being Aware of the automatic negative thoughts that pass by in your mind throughout the day will help tremendously. These skills can be learned, and the more you practice them, the stronger the Voice of Your True Self becomes, and the easier it becomes to hear It and follow Its guidance. The more you listen, the clearer it gets and the stronger your intuitive senses become.

Wherever you are in your life; and whatever your goals are — whether it is to improve your health, to advance your career, or to have a more meaningful life — overcoming your ego and its automatic negative thoughts, which holds you back from reaching your full potential, is vital for your True Happiness, Success and Inner Peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn how to connect with your Wiser Self, and have more control over your ego and its automatic negative thoughts, so that you can have more Love, Joy, and Inner Peace in Your Life? Enroll in one of the Mastering The Three Levels of Happiness Coaching Programs! You will learn the skills that will help you follow your Inner Joy, Everyday.

The Compass and the Ego

Written by Chris Mirana / Fa Chao Shakya

هذه المقالة مترجمة إلى اللغة العربية أدناه*

A compass is a navigational instrument with a magnetized pointer that aligns itself with the earth’s magnetic field, always pointing north. We have used the compass for millennia to find our way. It’s been used by seafarers, explorers, and travellers alike to help get from one place to another. When we lose our way, we pull out our compass, get our bearings, then find the path again. But our journey as a human being is also a journey of the mind, of the psyche, and of the spirit. How do we navigate these other waters when there is no ocean’s surface that allows us to use a tool such as a compass? Well, a compass may be useless in these situations, but it serves as a good analogy for an essential aspect of the spiritual journey, for we do need a compass – without one we’ll get lost just as surely as an ancient sailor would get lost without knowledge of the sky, the compass, and the sextant.

To understand how to use our spiritual compass, let’s look at how we use a physical compass. First, when we lose our way, we know we can find out which direction to take by using the compass, that is, we have faith that the compass will help us get back on track. We know that to guess or to choose based on what we think is the right direction is not as good an option as looking at the compass and letting it tell us. So we look at the compass and follow exactly the bearings it gives. We have confidence that the compass will point us in the correct direction and that by following its guidance we will arrive safely at our intended destination.

When we get lost we do nothing but look at the compass. We make no choices of our own – we let the compass make the choice for us because we know how to read it and we have faith in it. This is an essential thing to remember as we tread a spiritual path. We must use only the spiritual compass and let nothing interfere with it. If we start guessing, assuming we know better than the compass, then at best we’ll stay lost, and at worst, we’ll perish. We must leave the ego behind in order to proceed with the right attitude that will allow us to use our compass.

But what would a “spiritual compass” be? To know it, we must first understand the ego, for as long as the ego holds the high seat, our spiritual compass is completely invisible.

Why does the ego not allow us access to the compass? Why does it confuse us and cause us to make the wrong decisions? After all, if it didn’t misguide us so often, then we wouldn’t need to talk about “finding our compass” in the first place.

Many Zen teachers have spoken of the ego and its destructive nature when left to its own devices. They tell us that the fundamental Principle of the Universe — Buddha Mind or Buddha Nature or Self Nature — governs all: the entire cosmos of which we are part. Buddha Mind is not, as some mistakenly suggest, our individual soul.

As we begin to embark on our spiritual journey Self Nature is unconscious – that is, we do not consciously, or knowingly, recognize it. But unconsciously we do. Self Nature manifests as thought in our conscious lives but it does not remain in thought because it is not fixed. We only get glimpses of it now and again, and most often we pay it no attention. The act of making it fully conscious, recognizable to us in every moment, is what the Spiritual path is all about: it is the destination of any spiritual journey.

The Buddha Self uses ‘form’ to manifest in this world but It has no attachment to form. So in manifesting as form It remains non-abiding. No where. To be in-tune with Buddha Nature, from moment to moment in our lives, we too must have a mind that is non-abiding, that is, nowhere fixed.

Ultimate Reality, or the Principal of All that Is, manifests within us and acts on us – on the mind, on the body, on all aspects of our lives. Through Reality, the mind apperceives itself: it becomes conscious of its own consciousness.

It is exactly this “being conscious of our own consciousness” that gives rise to the ego – to “I Am-ness,” to Descartes famous exclamation: “I think, therefore I am.”

In this way, the Unconscious becomes conscious of itself and an urge for assertion arises.

But what’s the point? Why does this happen? This urge for assertion which manifests the ego has been, throughout the millennia, necessary for our day-to-day survival. It has kept us safe from the sabre-toothed tiger, allowed us to form societies, protect our families and communities from attacks, encouraged us to grow wiser and more cunning – all of which have promoted the continuation of our species. In fact, without ego, without this urge for assertion, we could not do the simplest functions of daily living, like driving a car or finding our way back home or cooking our food. We need the ego, but we need more to be happy, to be content – we need a direct connection with the source of the ego.

What happens when we don’t have that connection?

To function in our daily life, the apperceiving mind in its egoistic state uses the brain, in which all the 5 senses (skandas) and consciousness coordinate and communicate. The ego, now a master-at-large, has a wonderful machine (body), which functions obediently in response to its urges. In this role, the ego, which is without a Self (without Universal Knowledge), urges us on in carrying out those mundane tasks which constitute our daily life. The ego functions through the material process of thought which uses memory to guide it. This is its mechanical movements, and they are always derived from experiential images of the past.

Unfortunately for the ego, in carrying out and perfecting these routine tasks it ignorantly considers itself capable of resolving everything, not only the mundane and material problems of our daily lives but all of our problems! It attempts to solve new mental or psychological problems that arise daily in our lives because solving problems is all it knows how to do. Yet, because it can only operate from the point of view of past experience, the ego struggles hopelessly to resolve problems that are outside its domain of knowledge – outside of its realm of past experience. The ego knows nothing of spirituality, nothing of God, of Buddha Nature, Adoni, Bhagavan, Brahman, parama-Isvara, Rama, Ek Onkar, Waheguru, Nirankar, Aten, Mithras, Yahweh, Yehoshûa , Allah, Yezdan , Abraxas, Cao Ðà?i, Akua, Tenchi-Kane-no-Kami, Mioya-Ookami, Ahura Mazda, or any of the other thousands of names for Ultimate Reality that cultures around the globe have given It. Yet, despite the stronghold of the ego, the ubiquitous quality of All that Is has been perceived by all cultures throughout recorded history, a knowledge that cannot be known through the ego; the personal, isolated self, for the more it tries to comprehend it, the harder it gets, the greater the confusion becomes, and the greater and longer suffering endures.

We need to recognize that mental (emotional or psychological) problems are not the same as material problems and that they require different solutions. If a car breaks down, a mechanic uses memory and applies thought to carry out the repairs. But when faced with emotional problems, the ego cannot use thought, which is of the past, to resolve them. Emotional problems are complex in nature and require a different approach – an approach that is built on a spiritual foundation.

The reason this is so is because the ego always works to resolve a new problem with a past solution; consequently, it naturally falls into dualistic conflicts and it becomes muddled by an unending stream of disconnected thoughts which obscure the clarity of truth. Trying endlessly to solve the problem, it has no success and succumbs to fear; in a state of fear it becomes further trapped in its own confusion; confusion leads to pain and sorrow; pain and sorrow lead to frustration and anger; frustration and anger lead to despair and violence. We cycle downward into an ever increasing pit of hell, all because the ego operates in the darkness of its own ignorance about that which has given rise to it.

This is when we most need a guide — something to help us up and out of the pit. This is when we need a spiritual compass.

Once the ego sees that it has derived its conscious “mind” from the Unconscious Mind it stops dead in its tracks. It remains silent. It stops all attempts to manipulate things because it realises its own futility in this area. In this silence it makes no movements. This silence and stillness (non-doing/non-action) flow from the Principle of All that Is, from Buddha Mind.

The Buddha Mind is itself the pointer, the spiritual compass. As we work to create a spacious mind, spontaneously a discovery takes place that leaves us silent – it leaves us quiet and receptive. In normal daily life, the ego finds its way, but through this discovery there is a newfound harmony in life. There is peace and happiness.

Through the awakening experience we call satori, we find our compass and our spiritual journey proceeds with the confidence of a master mariner at sea.

Let’s Celebrate UN Peace Day!

September 21, marks the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.On this occasion, I wish You a very Happy and Peaceful Day, Everyday!

“When my heart is at peace, the world is at peace.”
~ Chinese Proverb

If you would like to learn more about Peace Day, how it came about and its significance; how you can contribute to World Peace in simple and easy ways; and how to cultivate Peace in your life; please join me on Peace Day, this Friday, 21 September, between 5 – 7 PM.

For more information and the location, please send an email by Thursday, 20 September to jordan@servas.orgWrite “Peace Day” in the subject line.

I hope to see you then!

May You Find Your Peace!

Zafira Labadi,

Happiness & Wellness Coach

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Generation Zapped — the movie

I am always horrified when I see many people, men and women, put their mobile phone near their ears/heads, even when they are not using them; or when they put the mobile near their chest, or in their pocket, totally oblivious about the dangers of their device.

Many studies show that heavy exposure to these electromagnetic fields (EMFs) could be severely damaging to our health, especially to children, even in utero. The most obvious reason EMFs may cause physical harm is because our body is bioelectrical. Many of our bodily processes involve the transmission of electric signals, and external interference can disrupt those processes.

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

Happy Earth Day!

April 22 is Earth Day, and this year it marks the 45th anniversary of what is considered by many the birth of the modern environmental movement that started in April 1970, which focuses on raising awareness by putting environmental concerns up front and center.

I invite you to be a part of Earth Day to help build a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come. The possibilities for getting involved are endless! Volunteer. Plant a Tree. Install solar panels on your roof. Reduce your consumption. Avoid using plastic and wasting resources. Recycle: Return hangers to the cleaners; donate clothing and computers to charities; use reusable bags and containers. Use recycled items whenever possible like for example recycled chlorine-free paper. Use energy saving bulbs. Choose cleaning products that are natural and eco-friendly. You can reduce emissions by sharing a car, using public transportation, riding a bike, or walking when possible. Organize an event in your community. Help launch a community garden. Communicate your priorities to your elected representatives. Do something nice for the Earth, have fun, meet new people, and make a difference.

More importantly, keep doing these things! Earth Day is Every Day! To build a better future, we must commit to living responsibly year-round.

Remember, people need the Earth for air,
water, food, and for their existence!

People Need Nature; Nature Doesn’t Need People!

Happy Earth Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zafira LabadiHappiness & Wellness Coach Committed to Helping You Lead a Happier life!

Happy International Women’s Day!

International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March isa global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women.

International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements in the beginning of the twentieth century in North America and Europe. Since the year 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights; Women have fought for equality.

Three years later, in 1911, the first International Women’s Day was held. However, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March during International Women’s Year, 1975.

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change, and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women living an extraordinary life in their communities.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Come and celebrate International Women’s Day with us at The Feel-Good Movie Club this week. For more information, see below.
In the meantime, watch this video for some boost of Happiness, and
“Clap along if you feel like Happiness is the Truth“!

Zafira Labadi

Committed to Helping You Lead a Happier life, based on the scientific studies in the Science of Happiness, Nutrition, and Neuroscience; and by using techniques that focus on the Mind, Body, and Spirit.

To Book a Free Confidential ConsultationEmail: joy.or.above@gmail.comSkype: zafira.labadiCall: +962-7-77225590

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Feel-Good Movie Club!

is celebrating

International Women’s Daythis week by screening some inspiring films about ordinary women living extraordinary life.

Happy International Day of Peace!

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind
brought about by a serenity of soul.”

~ Jawaharlal Nehru

September 21 marks the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

Building World Peace might sound like a huge challenge for an individual; however, scientific studies show that we can actually create World Peace when enough people have cultivated their Inner Peace. This is called the Tipping Point, which some experts say it’s 1% of the Population; others say it’s 5%. So do NOT underestimate your personal power and the effect you have on the World.

“If there is to be Peace in the World, There must be Peace in the Nations.

If there is to be Peace in the Nations, There must be Peace in the Cities.

If there is to be Peace in the Cities, There must be Peace between Neighbors.

If there is to be Peace between Neighbors, There must be Peace in the Home.

If there is to be Peace in the Home, There must be Peace in the Heart.” ~ Lao Tzu

Peace is in Our Hands

“If man really says, I must have peace in the world, therefore I must live peacefully then there is peace in the world.” ~ J. Krishnamurti

Whatever you do (or don’t do) on an individual level, whether you are aware of it or not, will affect the whole world. The way you live your life on daily basis, how you earn and spend your money, the food you buy and eat, the way you treat yourself and others, the way you treat nature and all living beings, the way you think, feel and behave, the way you drive, the words you speak and the messages you post or repost on social media etc… Everything counts.

So how can we cultivate Inner Peace?
The first step is by relaxing your body and calming your mind. This can be achieved through meditation or setting in silence for a few minutes every day.

“Inner Peace begins with a relaxed body.”
~ Norman Vincent Peal

Cultivating and maintaining your Inner Peace is also crucial for your health and well-being. It is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Give PEACE a VOICE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn How to cultivate Joy and Inner Peace in Your Life, Enroll in one of the Coaching Toward Happiness Programs! Call or email to schedule a free Consultation Session! You will learn new ways to increase your Happiness, Everyday.

To Your Inner Peace!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recommended Movies

I hope you get a chance to watch these important movies and share them with others.

Road to Peace: the Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama

On Peace Day, September 21 at 10:00 am PT, you can watch this film for free on Facebook. This acclaimed film journeys along with the Dalai Lama as he shows us simple ways to treat each other more compassionately and to practice peace. http://www.facebook.com/roadtopeacefilm

Genetic Roulette – The Gamble of Our Lives

I highly recommend this great new documentary on GMOs. It reveals the serious health impacts of genetically engineered foods in our diets and shows how you can protect your family. You can watch it for free online until September 22: http://geneticroulettemovie.com/